Hollow micro‐/nanostructures are of great interest in many current and emerging areas of technology. Perhaps the best‐known example of the former is the use of fly‐ash hollow particles generated from coal power plants as partial replacement for Portland cement, to produce concrete with enhanced strength and durability. This review is devoted to the progress made in the last decade in synthesis and applications of hollow micro‐/nanostructures. We present a comprehensive overview of synthetic strategies for hollow structures. These strategies are broadly categorized into four themes, which include well‐established approaches, such as conventional hard‐templating and soft‐templating methods, as well as newly emerging methods based on sacrificial templating and template‐free synthesis. Success in each has inspired multiple variations that continue to drive the rapid evolution of the field. The Review therefore focuses on the fundamentals of each process, pointing out advantages and disadvantages where appropriate. Strategies for generating more complex hollow structures, such as rattle‐type and nonspherical hollow structures, are also discussed. Applications of hollow structures in lithium batteries, catalysis and sensing, and biomedical applications are reviewed.

Defect-rich MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets are synthesized on a gram scale for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The novel defect-rich structure introduces additional active edge sites into the MoS2 ultrathin nanosheets, which significantly improves their electrocatalytic performance. Low onset overpotential and small Tafel slope, along with large cathodic current density and excellent durability, are all achieved for the novel hydrogen-evolution-reaction electrocatalyst.

Metal oxide nanostructures are promising electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors because of their high specific capacity/capacitance, typically 2-3 times higher than that of the carbon/graphite-based materials. However, their cycling stability and rate performance still can not meet the requirements of practical applications. It is therefore urgent to improve their overall device performance, which depends on not only the development of advanced electrode materials but also in a large part "how to design superior electrode architectures". In the article, we will review recent advances in strategies for advanced metal oxide-based hybrid nanostructure design, with the focus on the binder-free film/array electrodes. These binder-free electrodes, with the integration of unique merits of each component, can provide larger electrochemically active surface area, faster electron transport and superior ion diffusion, thus leading to substantially improved cycling and rate performance. Several recently emerged concepts of using ordered nanostructure arrays, synergetic core-shell structures, nanostructured current collectors, and flexible paper/textile electrodes will be highlighted, pointing out advantages and challenges where appropriate. Some future electrode design trends and directions are also discussed.

As an n-type wide-bandgap (E g = 3.6 eV) semiconductor, SnO 2 is one of the most intensively studied materials owing to its myriad technologically important applications such as gas sensors and lithium rechargeable batteries. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] To date, various nanostructures of SnO 2 , such as nanoparticles, [2] nanorods/belts/arrays, [3] nanotubes, [4] nanodisks, [5] nanoboxes, [6] hollow spheres, [7] and mesoporous structures, [8] have been prepared.Recently, hollow inorganic micro-and nanostructures have attracted considerable attention because of their promising applications such as nanoscale chemical reactors, efficient catalysts, drug-delivery carriers, and photonic building blocks. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Until now the general approach for preparation of hollow COMMUNICATIONS

A facile two‐step method is developed for large‐scale growth of ultrathin mesoporous nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) nanosheets on conductive nickel foam with robust adhesion as a high‐performance electrode for electrochemical capacitors. The synthesis involves the co‐electrodeposition of a bimetallic (Ni, Co) hydroxide precursor on a Ni foam support and subsequent thermal transformation to spinel mesoporous NiCo2O4. The as‐prepared ultrathin NiCo2O4 nanosheets with the thickness of a few nanometers possess many interparticle mesopores with a size range from 2 to 5 nm. The nickel foam supported ultrathin mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanosheets promise fast electron and ion transport, large electroactive surface area, and excellent structural stability. As a result, superior pseudocapacitive performance is achieved with an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 1450 F g−1, even at a very high current density of 20 A g−1, and excellent cycling performance at high rates, suggesting its promising application as an efficient electrode for electrochemical capacitors.

A promising family of mixed transition-metal oxides (MTMOs) (designated as Ax B3-x O4 ; A, B=Co, Ni, Zn, Mn, Fe, etc.) with stoichiometric or even non-stoichiometric compositions, typically in a spinel structure, has recently attracted increasing research interest worldwide. Benefiting from their remarkable electrochemical properties, these MTMOs will play significant roles for low-cost and environmentally friendly energy storage/conversion technologies. In this Review, we summarize recent research advances in the rational design and efficient synthesis of MTMOs with controlled shapes, sizes, compositions, and micro-/nanostructures, along with their applications as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors, and efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in metal-air batteries and fuel cells. Some future trends and prospects to further develop advanced MTMOs for next-generation electrochemical energy storage/conversion systems are also presented.

Metal oxide hollow structures have received great attention because of their many promising applications in a wide range of fields. As electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), metal oxide hollow structures provide high specific capacity, superior rate capability, and improved cycling performance. In this Research News, we summarize the recent research activities in the synthesis of metal oxide hollow nanostructures with controlled shape, size,composition, and structural complexity, as well as their applications in LIBs. By focusing on hollow structures of some binary metal oxides (such as SnO 2 ,TiO 2 , Fe 2 O 3 , Co 3 O 4 ) and complex metal oxides, we seek to provide some rational understanding on the effect of nanostructure engineering on the electrochemical performance of the active materials. It is thus anticipated that this article will shed some light on the development of advanced electrode materials for next-generation LIBs.

Oxygen electrocatalysis is of great importance for many energy storage and conversion technologies including fuel cells, metal-air batteries and water electrolysis. Replacing noble metal-based electrocatalysts with highly efficient and inexpensive non-noble metal based oxygen electrocatalysts is critical for the practical applications of these technologies. Here we report a general approach for the synthesis of hollow frameworks of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes derived from metal-organic frameworks, which exhibit higher electrocatalytic activity and stability for oxygen reduction and evolution than commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts. The remarkable electrochemical properties are mainly attributed to the synergistic effect from chemical compositions and the robust hollow structure composed of interconnected crystalline nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes. The presented strategy for controlled design and synthesis of metal-organic framework-derived functional nanomaterials offers prospects in developing highly active electrocatalysts in electrochemical energy devices.